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On Monsters
By Gaara Kazekage
When I was little, I was scared of many obscure things, like being trapped forever in a cave or the dreaded bumblebee sting. One thing that scared me almost every night before bed was the aliens from the movie Zuthura, Zorgons. “Zorgons are giant lizard people who eat meat. And we’re meat!” (quote from the movie). Somehow I thought these aliens would appear under my bed. I didn’t think that they’d come from outer space in a ship or anything. I just thought they would be under the bed. Now, I wasn’t the one to come up with the whole monsters under the bed deal. That idea happened way before me and appears in many television shows, which as we all know, is a magical place for kids to learn.
Another “monster” I was afraid of was from the movie “The Haunting Hour.” It was a Disney Channel horror movie so no one died, but it still scared me senseless. The monster in it had two heads; one to eat a person’s meat, and the other to drink their blood. This wasn’t the part I was most afraid of though. In the movie, it said that if you thought about the monster, it would find you. I was terrified because I couldn’t stop thinking about that dang monster. I was scared and had nowhere to hide to keep it from killing me.
So I conclude that, against popular belief, kids aren’t exactly afraid of monsters or their appearance, but rather, the threat of pain or death. Kids react the same way to a monster under the bed as they would when forced to jump off a diving board the first time; fear for one self. Discovering this piece of information helps us rule out some things. A kid is not afraid of a “monster” under their bed, they are afraid of pain and death. This means anything can be under the bed.
Furthermore, kids are funny in their sense of bravery and caution. Take four year olds for example. During one Halloween, I was dressed head to toe in a bloody clown costume with blood in my teeth. I was running one of the games, and the kids’ reactions to me were quite varied. One boy who dressed as a minion was so scared of me that he wouldn’t walk up our driveway until I was out of sight. Another kid was a girl dressed as a green fairy that was completely unfazed by my appearance and treated me as if that was how I always looked. You never know how kids are going to react or what they are going to do.
The word monster is derived from the Latin word “monstrum” which means divine omen. This omen invokes misfortune and is evil in itself, thus creating fear. The “monsters” we know today are believed to have two of these qualifications; being evil and creating fear. But our time’s monster was not the first to come from the word monstrum. France’s monster followed the Latin derivation. This word meant a malformed animal or human. In some cases the creature, human or animal, was thought of as a monster because of various birth defects. They believed that these defects were cursed by the devil so they often killed them. This scenario was the premise of The Hunch Back of Notre Dame.
Even now though, people tend to define monsters by their appearance. Take for example, dragons and mermaids. Both are categorized as monsters, but there is controversy over whether or not mermaids should be counted as monsters because of their assumed peaceful nature. The key here is assumed. Mermaids in nearly all old folklore, legends, and stories have actually been villains. Mermaids are beautiful sirens who lure men to steer their boats to them, only to have their boat sunk by sharp rocks. The mermaids then either, eat the humans, suck the life out of the humans, or just let them die for the sake of killing. Dragons on the other hand are believed to be and are treated like villains no matter the case. When a dragon is sent to guard a princess from capture, the dragon doesn’t eat the princess. The dragon kills all who try to steal her. The dragon is hated by everyone in the world. The dragon is eventually slain by the “hero” of the story. The dragon’s death is celebrated not only by their entire world, but ours as well. I am not saying that either of them is completely good or completely bad. But judging by their actions, mermaids and dragons are at least in the same gray area, maybe even darker on the mermaid’s side. So what causes this inequitable view? One is considered attractive to the human eye.
Appearance explains a big part of choosing Halloween costumes. In the old days, people used to dress up as demons and such to scare away the real ones. Nowadays, many people dress up as characters they find most appealing to them. The stereotypical costume options for people are: male child – super-hero, female child – princess, adult male – any mask- regular clothing, and adult women – sexy anything. So when you get something different, it’s always a surprise. Here’s an example.
Halloween is a big deal for my siblings and me. When I say “big deal,” I mean BIG deal. Now not only is it my siblings and I’s thing, all my friends join in as well coming to our house to help scare children. We set up booths to give away candy and play games, while the ones who aren’t running them go around scarring the children emotionally (I do mean scarring). Halloween is my favorite holiday. I remember I was forced to remain out of the way because it was still early (meaning there was only the really young kids out), and my presence was making it so they wouldn’t even walk up our driveway. I was doing recon to see what costumes were cool or cute, or “in” at the time. Apparently, weird full-body animal costume-pajama things were it. I didn’t understand how they could breathe with those huge heads on. I then noticed a group of four kids dressed in costumes that caught my attention. Their age was probably late elementary or early middle school. I couldn’t tell for sure. Three of their costumes that I recognized immediately were a werewolf, a vampire, and a zombie. I wasn’t even sure if the fourth kid was even wearing a costume. I needed to find out. So, leaving my “corner,” I approached the group. They were excited to explain their costumes. Apparently they were “taking it old school.” I didn’t even have a chance to ask about “4” before they explained. “He’s our manager.” Three costumes all spoke at the same time, all in their own ways with their own words, but this was their point. I looked to “4” for confirmation. He shrugged and said, “I didn’t have a costume, but people give candy anyways. And they wanted me to match their “theme” so I guess I’m their manager.”
This encounter may seem insignificant, but I believe it holds a lot of meaning. I remember thinking it was cute that they included him even though he didn’t have a costume. I wondered though, and still wonder, if it really was a costume.
Werewolf. Werewolves have been recognized as monsters for thousands of years. They date back so far that people can’t pinpoint from where they first originated. Some of the earliest were that of Greek mythology and Nordic folklore. In Greek mythology, Lycaon the son of Pelasgus had angered Zeus so as punishment, Zeus turned Lycaon and his sons into wolves. This coined the term Lycan, a werewolf who kept his human mind after the transformation. Nordic folklore tells a story of a father and son being able to change into wolves by wearing their pelts.
The most known stories of werewolves describes their crimes of killing and eating children. These murders took place in France in the 1500 and 1600’s. However, with further research, we find out that werewolves were not the ones doing the killing. In 1521, Pierre Burgot and Michel Verdun swore allegiance to the devil and claimed to have ointment to change into werewolves. They were eventually captured, and they confessed to brutally murdering children. They were burned at the stake. It is unknown why they did this. Possibly, they were mentally ill, taking hallucinogenic drugs, or just simply wanted to kill, but it still remains a mystery.
Vampire. When people hear the word vampire, they think of blood sucking creatures of the night who try to kill all humans. Vampires are more complicated than that. Vampires or vampyres have had so many different stories, myths, and legends that they are more like their own category of monster with many races within it. An example of such a species is the Fairies, where leprechauns, nymphs, and dozens of others reside. The differences in vampires are quite drastic, some even being completely opposing. Some are said to be able to turn into bats or wolves while others have no such implication. Some have reflections, some don’t. Some die from holy water and sunlight while others aren’t even affected by them. There is one thing they all have in common though; they all suck vital bodily fluid, usually blood. Why it is said they drink blood is still a mystery. Bram Stoker, the creator of Count Dracula, is believed to have based his character on a real person, Vlad Dracula the Impaler. Vlad was a ruler of Transylvania who would kill his enemies by impaling them on a wooden stake. He would then, as his enemies were dying, eat a feast and dip his bread in their blood.
Another tale, tells us of a girl named Mercy Brown. She lived in Rhode Island with her family, who were farmers. In the late 1800’s, Mercy and many of her family members died. The community, along with the remaining members of her family, blamed the deaths on Mercy. The reason for the blame was very common in this time. They believed that some people became “undead” after they died and would return to kill family members. They believed it was Mercy because her body showed no decay, and there was blood on her lips. To rid the town of the “vampire,” they cut out her heart and burned it. What the people at this time didn’t realize, was the reason that she hadn’t decayed was because they had her kept in an above-ground vault in the middle of winter. The reason she had blood on her lips was from intestinal decomposition, which creates bloating that can force blood up into the mouth. Her family and community had been hit by the disease Tuberculosis and because there was no anti-biotic, they all died.
People don’t like not knowing things. It makes them afraid. They did not possess the knowledge of today’s science and modern medicine, so they put the blame on something they could rationalize. They wanted their fear to have a physical form; one that they could stop. So they answered the age old question that’s still a mystery today, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” The answer they had come up with was…vampires.
Zombie. Grunt. Grunt. BRAINS! Just from making grunting noises and saying brains, people think of zombies. Most anything zombie, results in an apocalyptic world where people infected with the “zombie” disease are spreading it throughout the world. This is a popular theme throughout pop-culture. Why? Because people like being ready. Ready for a test, ready for a date, and ready for a zombie apocalypse….No one likes to feel helpless or useless, so we imagine ourselves in a place full of chaos, surviving. It helps us feel like that if something horrible were to happen, we’d be prepared. It also helps us feel better in the world in which we live. This desire was so widespread and strong that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) took advantage of the zombie mania. They created a “Zombie Preparedness” website to motivate people to prepare for disasters. People loved it.
Zombies were not always thought of as a spreading disease that would end the world as we know it. The word zombie is derived from the West African language in the Kongo, Nzambi, which means “spirit of a dead person.” Back in the 17th century, West Africans were brought to Haiti as slaves. The people may have been forced to convert to Catholicism, but they still continued to believe in their native religion. They believed in the after-life. An after-life that was peaceful, free, and back home. They believed if they could make it thought their harsh and cruelty-filled lives, their afterlife would be a reward. Why not just kill themselves to get there sooner? They believed that committing suicide would trap the soul inside of the body and make them live as slaves for eternity. They wouldn’t be the same as they were when they were alive; instead they would be zombies.
Clowns. Clowns are supposed to be characters who make you smile by having outlandish costumes, makeup, a
and funny nature, but all do not see them that way. My friends from “Team 7” are a prime example. When asked about them, this is what they said. Apparently they view clowns the same way we view people in a full-body mascot costume; annoying (Naruto), creepy (Sakura), and deceiving (Sasuke). Harsh, I know, but they had a defense. When people are dressed like that, they always feel like you should like them, like they should be allowed to touch you, and like they are allowed to act however they want. I’m not saying this is how they all are, but how they often appear to be. One of the scariest things about clowns is that they are simply humans. Humans who wear their “masks” so blatantly on their faces that they have to paint them on. Everyone has “masks” that they put on in order to be perceived a certain way; hard-working and smart for a job interview, while goofy and laid back in front of friends. They utilize different personas for different events and activities like different masks are worn in different plays. Clowns are not that way though. They are not meant to be. They were, and still are, created to be one thing, a happy, funny, clumsy, goof ball that makes people laugh. It sounds innocent enough, but that’s why it’s scary. Clowns only show one side of themselves to everyone. The side that is so truly fake that they must paint it onto themselves to be seen that way. People are afraid of clowns because they are lies. Lies told to make people feel better.
Clowns haven’t been the only thing we’ve dubbed worthy for our Halloween theme. We’ve done a year of skeleton pirates, a year of villains (such as Temari as the Queen of Hearts), a year of human souls trapped inside of dolls, a year of ghosts, and the list goes on. There is a thing all of these have in common. They all have “humans” of some kind inside of them. Skeletons, villains, souls, and ghosts were all once human. I didn’t realize until I was writing this that on the day of monsters, we, my family, kept choosing humans as ours.
Manager. Managers are people in charge of the activities, tactics, and training of an organization. Manager costume: a human dressed up as a human being in charge of things. In the kid’s case that I mentioned earlier, he was managing monsters. Managing monsters. Monster stories. Telling monster stories. Creating monster stories. Covering things up with monster stories. When something bad happens, people like to put a face on it to give people a common enemy. When a human does something wrong, they don’t want to take the blame so they blame it on something else. When a human doesn’t want to accept that someone, a co-worker, a friend, a family member, a teacher, a grocery store clerk, another human, would do something—anything horrible, they create a reason for why they did it. Why did they do that horrible thing? No, they couldn’t have. There must be a logical explanation.
People are afraid of what they don’t understand. What they don’t understand, they often make assumptions about. Negative assumptions. “Monsters” to blame. They may not have the same faces as they used to, but they are still “monsters.”
“Your son and his friends were caught bullying another kid.”
“Boys will be boys.”
“The tropical rainforests are losing 80,000 acres daily.”
“That’s just the hippies talking. The companies in charge say they are replanting the trees.”
“That poor woman, I can’t believe she was raped.”
“She was probably exaggerating. She must want attention.”
People blame that homosexuals getting AIDS is god’s punishment for liking the same sex, but AIDS is actually transmitted through blood and some bodily fluids to anyone.
Humans fight wars based on the fact that all humans aren’t born color blind.
People blame other people for their own wrongdoings and create rationales to defend themselves.
People say everything happens for a reason, which is just another way of saying they will make it have a reason.
“People like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves….they feel better then. They find it easier to live.” This is a quote from Andrzej Sapkowski. He worded it perfectly. Humans fear humans. Humans fear themselves. So they try to create things that are worse.
What is a monster? Is it a big scary beast with fangs? Do they live under the bed? Are they cruel and evil beings with no hearts? Or is it just a human? I believe that everyone has monsters inside of them. The question we need to ask is “Which ones get fed?”
Just as the quote of how heroes are made the same goes for monsters. “A monster isn’t born a monster, they are made into one.”